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Double standards for the heroic men of football

Article Abstract:

Soccer stars have been involved in abuse of wives and girlfriends in the United Kingdom, and this has been excused because of the pressures imposed by their occupation. Abuse has taken place in public, so this is not a question of ignoring events that occur in private. There is a mythology surrounding soccer that appears to encourage this type of behavior, which is not linked to other sports. Soccer is becoming a family game, and wife abuse is taken seriously in other contexts, so abuse by soccer stars should be taken seriously.

No wonder so many young men are alienated when we eulogise this ape

Article Abstract:

Media coverage of footballer Paul Gascoigne, who has been left out of the England team for the 1998 World Cup, has been very sympathetic. He has been portrayed as a hero whose exclusion from the team is a tragedy. This view overlooks the fact that Gascoigne is actually very immature and lacks real personality. He was violent towards his wife, and should therefore not be portrayed as a role model. His experiences should be used to analyze why it seems to be impossible for some men to achieve anything approaching maturity.